Bush Balks at Tossing Out Opening Day's First Pitch

[Kadie]

Bush Balks at Tossing Out Opening Day's First Pitch

By Paul Duggan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 2, 2007; Page A01

This is a baseball story, so let's get right to the stats.

Today is Washington's 65th Opening Day since 1910, when William H. Taft gave us a tradition: the ceremonial first pitch by the president. Taft threw the inaugural one for the Senators that year. In the local club's 63 home openers since, a dozen presidents have done the honors 45 times, from front-row seats or from the mound, making them 46 for 64 overall (.719). Pretty reliable.

President Bush kept up the tradition in 2005, celebrating baseball's return to the nation's capital after a 33-season absence. But he missed last year's home opener -- and he'll miss today's, too, when the Nationals host the Florida Marlins at 1:05 p.m. Except for when the world was at war, only two other presidents, Woodrow Wilson and Richard M. Nixon, missed Opening Day ceremonies two years in a row. And Wilson had suffered a stroke.

What gives?

"Oh, yes, he was invited," said Bush spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore. She said the president, an avid baseball fan and former part owner of the Texas Rangers, would love to be there. But "it's not possible with his schedule. He's got various meetings during the day, a meeting earlier in the morning. . . . It just wasn't going to work out."

With Bush's approval ratings stuck below 40 percent in recent polls, Lawrimore was asked whether the president feared he'd get booed. "No," she replied. "Certainly not."

more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/01/AR2007040101262_2.html

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

1. He's simply too much a coward to expose himself to such a crowd.

:shrug:

[Skink]

4. He heard the catchers name was Fitz.

[Lex]

2. Oh, they KNOW he'd get booed right out of the stadium.

He makes no appearances where he hasn't pre-screened the crowd.

He knows he is hated by most all Americans.

[Kadie]

3. Another bit from the article. (comparing * to Nixon)

snip...
And in the end, there was Nixon: He missed the Senators' Opening Day festivities in 1970, arriving at the ballpark in the fifth inning, after sweating out a key congressional vote. And he missed all of the final home opener, April 5, 1971, before the team played out its season and moved away. Like Bush today, Nixon had meetings that afternoon.

He was in trouble.

Polls showed his approval ratings had dropped to a new low. A majority of Americans felt he wasn't being truthful about an unpopular war.




Ha!

[Missy Vixen]

5. Call the WAAAAmbulance!

He was probably afraid that Nancy Pelosi was going to suit up and race him around the bases!

In the meantime, it was impossible to control the crowd, so poor Bushie stayed home...

Julie

[Ilsa]

19. I love that! Very true. He's a coward. nt

[Erika]

6. The public like the W in baseball issues

more than they do in war matters. He's a joke at being president but he loved ball. One of his first priorities was to set up a WH DC Tball court.

[cmd]

7. He's headed for safe territory

and will throw the first pitch in Cincinnati - the reddest part of Ohio.

[Poiuyt]

8. Here's a photo of Bush throwing out the first pitch

[Richard Steele]

9. They should get that little fellow to do the honors!

Put him in a little flight suit, whip up
a "Mission Accomplished" banner...that
would be GREAT!

[Mnemosyne]

13. Don't forget the HUGH codpiece. n/t

[Richard Steele]

14. Oh, if only I could.....

If only I could.

[Mnemosyne]

17. It was truly

:scared:

The ego behind the tube sock that is. Haven't seen a codpiece yet that could scare me! :evilgrin:

[Bluebear]

10. "Baak bak bak bak BWAAAAAAAAAK!!!!!!!"

[Hamlette]

11. some should tell Tweety, he gets all excited when he talks about Bush throwing the 1st pitch

at some game a few years back (2001?) he was as excited as when he talks about Bush and the Mission Accomplished speech.

He says its because he's all man and manly. I would give anything to ask Chris Matthews: are manly men afraid to go to a freaking baseball game?

[bluestateguy]

12. Isn't the Opening Day crowd all rich season ticket holders?

If so, it appears that Baby Bush is in some real trouble with his base.

[RapidCreek]

15. .....he throws like the pansy he is?

RC

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. Actually, no

I hate to think of it, but in '05 he brought it up there pretty well. He's no Fidel Castro, but it didn't bounce or sail into the seats or anything.

Come to think of it, I recall getting the impression that he put some mustard on it to show what a manly man he is. :eyes:

[WI_DEM]

18. They probably didn't want him

[mb7588a]

20. could be that...

he didn't want to watch a shitty baseball team (I was there today, it was appalling.)...

AND get booed.